Labeling apparatus



April 1942. s. w. VON HIOFE" LABELINGAPPARATUS Filed May 16, 194bffShefis-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

- E0265 V0/v A OFE i ATTORNEY April 1942' G. V'V.I\ IONIHOFE 2,281,397

LABELING APPARATUS Filed May 16, 1940 s sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR. 65026514 vo/v 1 /0/27 BY a/r April 28, 1942. cs. w. VON HOFE LABELINGAPPARATUS Filed May 16, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l 7 9 //r w 3 3 d J a x Z3 w w a m r Q g 3 1 w .ME. HEIEMnIIK H rHPH J IH ill! i rn. w

.5 F 0 WM VN m m E 6 M E 6 Patented Apr. 28, 1942 LABELING APPARATUSGeorge W. van Hole, Bound Brook, N. J., assignor to New Jersey MachineCorporatioml-Ioboken, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application May16,1940, Serial No. 335,464

' 7 Claims. (01. 271-60) The invention relates to labeling apparatusembodied in labeling machines and more particularly to labelingapparatus which includes label carrying means movable in a given mannerfor instance to transfer the labels from a label supply or pick-upstation to a'label applying station for application to the articles forwhich said labels are designed. The invention has for its object toprovide novel means whereby the travel of the label carrying means istemporarily arrested at an intermediate point of its travel, as forinstance a predetermined point between the aforesaid label supply orpick-up station and the label applying station. The inventioncontemplates further the provision of novel locking means whereby theposition of said label carrying means at the arresting point isdefinitely predetermined and whereby said label carrying means istemporarily locked in said position with recurrent accuracy throughoutrepeated operative steps during an operative period of the labelingmachine.

Other more specific objects will appear from the description hereinafterand the features of novelty will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exampleof theinvention and its applicaticn without defining its limits, Fig; 1 is a 7side elevation partly brokenaway and in section,

of a labeling machine with the novel arresting and locking meansembodied therein; Fig. 2 is an opposite side elevation of said labelingmachine including the novel arresting and locking means with parts ofthe labeling machine unnecessary to the illustration of said meansomitted; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the labeling machine and thenovel arresting and looking means, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentaryview of the novel locking means.

For purposes of illustration and description;

the novel means are shown in a labeling machine of the type in which thelabel carrying means is reciprocated over a horizontal path between twoopposite terminals as exemplified for instance by a label pick-upstation and a label applying station. It is to be understood that theselected labeling machine and the specific form of the arresting andlocking means shown therein are in no sense intended to define thelimits of the invention.

the label pick-up station of the machine. suit-1 able provision is madein the customary manner for periodically'elevating the. stack of labels.II

in the container l2 to restore the upper end of plying station themachine is provided with a conventional support l3 suitably mounted onthe frame in or otherwise arranged for supporting the articles to belabeled, in label receiving position at said applying station. f

The labeling machine further includes carrying means for transferringthe labels II in individual succession from the pick-up station to theapplying station for application to the ar-' ticles on the support i3thereat.

As shown in the drawings, the label carrying means is of the suctionoperated type and includes a carriage l4 slidablymounted upon ahorizontal guide rail |5 supported on the frame III in any convenientmanner. is reciprocated on the rail l5 between two opposite-terminalsexemplified-in the instant case by the label pick-up station at whichthe supply of labels H is locatedfan'd the label applying station atwhich the support l3 for the articles to be located is positioned. Forreciprocating the carriage H on the rail- I5, an arm I6 is fixed upon ashaft l1 suitably journalled on the frame '0, said arm l6 beingyieldingly connected with the carriage l4 by means of a coupling rod l8and coil springs Ill. The shaft I1 is operatively rocked on its axis bymeans of a toothed segment 20 which meshes with a' rack verticallymovable in a guide 22 suitably located upon the frame l0. Therack 2!forms part of an operating member 23 forked at its lower end to straddleThe labeling machine shown in the drawings located in a container orhopper l2 mounted in any conventional manner on the frame II] at adriving shaft 24 rotatably mounted in conventional bearings on theframe' Ill. The operating member 23 carries a roller 25 in operativeengagement with a cam 26 fixed upon the shaft 24.

As the shaft 24 and the cam 26 are rotated, the latter will inco-operation with the roller 25 operate the rack 2| vertically tothereby rock the segment 20 and its shaft H on the axis of the latter.This will oscillate the arm l6 and through the medium of the couplingrod l8 will cause the carriage M to be moved backward and forward or, inother words, to be reciprocatecl on the'rail The carriage l 4 v l5between the aforesaid two opposite terminals.

' The carriage l4 serves as a support for a vertically movable member21a provided at its lower end with a suction head 21 connected by meansof a preferably flexible tube 28 with a source of suction, it beingunderstood that provision is made in any well-known way to control thesuction in the suction head 21 in proper synchronism with the otheroperations of the machine. When the carriage I 4 is temporarily at rest,at the opposite terminals as exemplified by the pickup station, and thelabel applying station, the suction head 2! is lowered and raised on thecarriage l4 to pick up individual labels from the supply stack and todeposit said labels upon the articles on the support I3 at the labelapplying station. These operations of the suction head may beaccomplished by conventional means indicated at 29 and requiring nodetail description as per se it forms no part of the instant invention.As the carriage I4 travels in one direction on the rail l5, that is inthe present instance toward the label applying station, the travel ofsaid carriage will be temporarily arrested at a predeterminedintermediate point between the label pick-up station or label applyingstation, or in other words, between the two opposite terminals for thepurpose for instance of permitting a code character or designation to beimprinted upon the label carried by the suction head 21 at the time; theimprinting device 30 is diagrammatically indicated in dotted lines inFig. 3 of the drawings. Subsequently to the temporary rest period of thecarriage i4, the travel thereof toward the label applying station iscontinued. The means whereby the aforesaid temporary arresting of thetravel of the carriage I4 is brought about comprises a dwell section awith which the cam 25 is provided and which is arranged in co-operationwith the roller 25v and the operating member 29 with its associatedelements, to arrest the movement of the carriage I4 on the rail l5 andto retain said carriage in this position of rest for a. predeterminedtime periodsuflicient for instance topermit the aforesaid code characteror designation to be imprinted on the particular label carried at-thetime. p i

For the purpose of locking the carriage l4 and the suction head 21carried thereby in the arrested position with recurrent accuracy, alooking means is provided which operates in predetermined synchronismwith the arresting means and insures a temporary stoppage of the suctionhead and carriage always at exactly the same predetermined point. Thisresult is secured regardless of slight variations in the position atwhich the carriage and suction head are temporarily arrested by thedwell section a of the cam 26 and the elements co-operating therewith;any adjustment in the arrested position by the action of the lockingmeans made necessary because of the aforesaid variations is possiblebecause of the coil springs i 9. In the illustrated example, the lockingmeans under discussion consists of a locking recess 3| provided at asuitable point on the suction head 21 and preferably tapering inward forco-operation with a movable locking device shown in the form of alocking bolt 32 having a tapered free end 33 slidably mounted in a guide34 carried by a bracket 35 suitably secured upon the frame ill. A pin 36carried by the locking bolt 32 projects outwardly through a slot 3'!formed in the guide 34 and connected with the forked end 38 of a bellcrank lever 39. The latter is pivotally mounted aaeraev at 40 upon thebracket 35 and at 4| is pivotally connected with one end of an operatingrod 42 the other end of which is pivotally connected at 43 with an arm44 fixed upon a rack shaft 45. This shaft is journalled in a bearing 46fixed by means of a bracket 41 upon the frame ill; the shaft 45 furthercarries a lever 46 provided at its free end with a roller 49 held incontact with a cam '50 by means of a spring 5|. The cam 50 is securedupon the shaft 24 and includes a relatively low concentric section b anda relatively high concentric section 0 as shown in Fig. l.

The labeling machine may further include adhesive applying means 5| ofconventional form whereby a coating of adhesive is applied to each labelas it is carried by the suction head 21 or its equivalent toward thelabel applying station and in addition may include a pressure developingmeans 52 of any well-known type, as well as any other features commonlyfound in such machines.

In the position of the parts shown inthe drawings the carriage i4 andthe suction head 21 are shown as temporarily arrested at an intermediatepoint between the opposite terminals as represented by the pick-upstation and the label applying station and are temporarily locked inthis position by the aforesaid locking means. As the operation of thelabeling machine continues, and subsequent for instance to theimprinting of a code character or designation on the particular labelcarriedby the suction head at the time, the roller 49 of the lever 48will pass from the low section b of the cam 50 to the high section cthereof. The lever 43 will thereby be pivotally moved downwardly in Fig.1 against the tension of the spring 5| and will rock the shaft 45 in itsbearing 46 to correspondingly move the arm 44 in a downward direction.This will pull the rod 42 downwardly and will pivotally actuate the bellcrank lever 39 in a manner to shift the locking bolt 32 to the right inthe guide 34 in Fig. 3 to thereby withdraw the tapered end 33 of thelocking bolt 32 from the locking recess II of the suction head 21. Inproper operated synchronism with these operations the roller 25 of theoperating member 29 will pass from the dwell section a of the cam 26whereby the rack 2| will be moved in a continuing upward direction tothereby operate the toothed segment 20 in a manner to swing the arm itto the left in Fig. 1 whereby movement of the carriage toward the labelapplying station is resumed and continued until this station is reached.Subsequently to the deposit of the particular label upon the article atsaid labeling point, the apparatus is operated to cause the parts to beoperated in return directions and to shift the carriage l4 with itssuction head 21 back to the label pick-up station to there pick up thenext succeeding terminal label from the supply stack after which thecarriage l4 and suction head 21 are again moved toward the labelapplying station. As the roller 25 reaches the dwell section a of thecam 26 the travel of the carriage I4 and its suction head 2'! will againbe temporarily arrested at the aforesaid intermediate point between theopposite terminals. In proper synchronism with these operations theroller 49 will pass from the high section 0 of the cam 50 to the lowsection b thereof. The lever 48 and arm 44 will thereby be pivotallyactuated to develop an upward push in the rod 42 which in turn willswing the bell crank lever 39 in a manner to shift the locking bolt 32to the left in the guide 34 in Fig. 3. This will cause the tapered end33 of said locking bolt 32 to enter the correspondingly tapered lockingrecess 3| of the suction head 21 and thereby temporarily lock the latterand with it the carriage I4 in the arrested position. Because of thetapered form of the locking recess 3| and the tapered end 33 of the;locking bolt 32, the said tapered end 33 and tapered recess 3| inco-operation with each other will develop a camming force whereby thesuction head 21 is set with recurrent accuracy in the arrested position.In other words, any slight variations in this position resulting fromthe action of the arresting means will be corrected. At the end of thepredetermined period of rest the locking bolt 32 will be withdrawn fromthe locking recess 3| and the travel of the carriage l4 and suction head2'! toward the label applying station will be resumed. The aforesaidcycle of operations will be repeated throughout an operative period ofthe machine.

With the novel arrangement it is possible to temporarily arrest thetravel 01 the label carrying means at a predetermined intermediate pointfor a given operative purpose, such as set forth hereinbefore, and tothen resume and continue the travel of said carrying means to aterminal. To insure recurrent accuracy in the arrested position of thecarrying means the simple and novel locking means described hereinoperates in proper synchronism with the aforesaid arresting means. Thenovel arresting and locking means may be readily installed in existinglabeling machines with, a minimum of expense and with little efiort, andrequire no particularly expert supervision in their operation.

Various changes in the specific forms shown and described may be madewithin the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. In a labeling apparatus, the combination of a traveling labelcarrying means reciprocable over a given path between two terminals, andoperating means for reciprocating said label carrying means between saidterminals, said operating means, without interruption of its ownoperation, being arranged to temporarily arrest the travel of said labelcarrying means in one direction at a predetermined point'between saidterminals and to effect a continuous travel of said carrying means inthe opposite direction.

2. In a labeling apparatus, the combination of a traveling labelcarrying means reciprocable over a given path between two terminals,operating means for reciprocating said label carrying means between saidterminals, said operating means, without interruption of its ownoperation, being arranged to temporarily arrest the travel of said labelcarrying means in one direction at a predetermined point between saidterminals and to effect a continuous travel of said carrying means inthe opposite direction, and means for temporarily locking said labelcarrying means in its arrested position with recurent accuracy, saidlocking means being inoperative during the continuous travel 01' saidcarrying means'in said opposite direction.

3. In a labeling apparatus, the combination of a traveling labelcarrying means, and operating means for reciprocating said carryingmeans between two opposite terminals, said operating means including acam provided with a dwell section whereby the travel of said carryingmeans in one direction is temporarily arrested at an intermediate pointbetween said oppositeterminals.

4. In a labeling apparatus, the combination of a traveling labeltransfer carriage reciprocable over a predetermined path between twoopposite terminals and provided with a locking recess, means fortemporarily arresting the travel of said carriage in one direction at anintermediate point between said opposite terminals, a movable lockingdevice co-operating with said locking recess to temporarily lock saidcarriage in its arrested position with recurrent accuracy, and meanscontrolling the operation of said locking device in operativesynchronism with said arresting means.

5. In a labeling apparatus, the combination of a traveling labelcarrying means, operating means for moving said carrying means over agiven path, said operating means including a cam provided with a dwellsection whereby the travel oi. said carrying means is temporarilyarrested at a predetermined point in said path without interrupting theoperation of said operating means, and locking means operating insynchronism with the dwell section of said cam for temporarily lockingsaid label carrying means in its arrested position.

6. In a labeling apparatus, the combination of a traveling labelcarrying means provided with a locking recess, operating means formoving said label carrying means over a given path, and for temporarilyarresting the movement of said carrying means at a predetermined pointin said path, a locking bolt having a tapered end, and means whereby thetapered end of said locking bolt is shifted into said recess to developacamming action whereby said carrying means is set with recurrentaccuracy in its arrested position and temporarily locked therein.

7. In a labeling machine, the combination of a traveling labeltransporting means, operating means for moving said label transportingmeans over a given path, said operating means, without interruption ofits own operation, being arranged to temporarily arrest the movement ofsaid label transporting means at a predetermined point in said path,locking means, and means on said transporting means co-operating withsaid locking means to set said transporting means with recurrentaccuracy in its arrested position and to temporarily lock it therein.

GEORGE W. VON HOFE.

